Greetings to all the readers of our blog post dedicated to the Berlin Wall! Here, you will learn about the origins and functions of the Berlin Wall and what it meant for the countries of the world during the Cold War. Whether you are a history freak or someone looking to get some knowledge of this event then worry not, for we have you covered. Let’s dive in!

1. Background

The Berlin Wall was in its concrete reality a wall that separated the city of Berlin into two different regions which included West Berlin and East Berlin. It was built by the GDR in 1961; it acted as one of the markers of the divide between the West and the Soviet Union dominated East Germany.

1.1 The Cold War

The building of the Berlin was resulted from Cold War which is a post World War II conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was composed of two super powers that had different political systems/ belief; capitalism and communism which both strove to spread their dominion.

1.2 Division of Germany

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones: Those are American, British, French and Soviets. When the western zones came together and became the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany. Different form of political systems and the power of the superpowers created tension and followed by the building of the Berlin Walls.

2. Purpose of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall served several purposes for the Soviet Union and the GDR:

In order to curtail the movement of East Germans to escape to the West due to better living standards.

To slow down the rate at which East Germany was losing highly skilled professional and intelligent personnel.

For the purpose of emphasizing the unity and deminance of the Eastern Bloc in it’s fight against the western influence.

2.1 Restricting Movement

the Berlin Wall has had the major function of stopping East Germans people from fleeing to the West. Before the construction of the wall, people of East Germany were crossing to west Germany in large numbers through Berlin. The wall brought about end to this kind of vulnerability by erecting barriers that separated the city and enrolled severe immigration regulatory mechanisms.

2.2 The Inner and Outer Wall

The Berlin Wall had two principle barriers namely the inner barrier and the outer barrier. The inner wall was the most integral with layers of barbed wire, watch towers and anti-vehicle scrapes. The outer wall offered other security features with propaganda art displayed and the structure more beautiful from the West Berlin view.

3. Daily Life and Impact

The construction of the Berlin Wall had a profound impact on the lives of individuals living in both East and West Berlin:

3.1 Separation of Families

Some families were split and for years they had no contact with members on the other side of the wall. Residents who was either attending to relatives or working in the other sector of the city now felt stranded.

3.2 Escaping East Germany

Nevertheless, many attempt of escape were made from East Germany to West Germany as this was full of dangers. Some people burrowed through the Wall with simple tools whereas some climbed over the Wall and flew in hot air balloons and even drove through the border check points. All these escape attempts show great desire among those who want to get away from their masters.

4. Fall of the Berlin Wall

The construction of the Berlin Wall took nearly three decades and they came down on November 9, 1989. The breaking down of the wall was historical event that led to the unification of Germany and thus was very important.

4.1 Peaceful Revolution

The Berlin Wall broke down because protesters and political transformations were taking place in Eastern Europe. Citizens of East Germany following the change of heart in Hungary and Czechoslovakia started demanding the civil liberty and the right to travel. Finally, through people’s pressure, the GDR government decided to open the wall.

4.2 Reunification of Germany

Germany sees the fall of the Berlin Wall as the starting point of the reunification of the two German states. Just short of the year, on the 3rd of October 1990, East and West Germany merged to form one country with national sovereignty.

5. Legacy of the Berlin Wall

The legacy of the Berlin Wall resonates to this day:

5.1 Division and freedom

The Berlin Wall is specialized in the idea of cold war time period where world was divided into two. This way it will remind people of the conflict between two major systems and ideologies and at the same time – the effort to be free.

5.2 Memory and Remains

Much of the Berlin Wall was dismantled and made into memorials and museums all around Berlin. These sites put across the history and importance of the wall and are good at avoiding the forgetting of the wall’s history.

Therefore, the Berlin Wall of course was not just a wall dividing the two parts of a city, but was in fact symbolising major divisions within the Cold War East and the West. Its construction, contribution to the routines of the daily life, decline and the current reunification of Germany impacted the history. Thus the understanding f the narrative of the Berlin Wall we come to learn the magnitude of freedom and understand the repercussions of ideological divisions.